Hedge Fund Drops Opposition to Smithfield Deal

NYT – Starboard Value, the activist hedge fund that was seeking to block Smithfield Foods’ $4.7 billion sale to a Chinese meat processor, dropped its fight on Friday, saying that it could not formalize an alternative takeover bid.

The concession by Starboard removes the last obstacle to the current deal. The meat processor cleared its most daunting hurdle earlier this month when a government panel declared that the sale to Shuanghui International — the biggest takeover of an American company by a Chinese counterpart — posed no national security issues, despite concerns raised by lawmakers.